Shoe with ergonomic insole unit

ABSTRACT

A shoe includes an ergonomic insole unit, and an upper with a bottom margin attached directly to the insole unit via a lasting process. The insole unit has a heel part which includes a bottom face, a rear upward flange extending upward from the heel part and a concave top surface conforming to the heel of the wearer&#39;s foot. In order to permit the bottom margin of the upper to be lasted over the heel part, the bottom face is coplanar at least in a peripheral region which extends along a corner defined by the bottom face and the upward flange.

[0001] This is a Continuation-in-Part Application of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 10/105,290 which is filed on Mar. 26, 2002 andwhich is abandoned.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] 1. Field of the Invention

[0003] The invention relates to a shoe, particularly, to a shoe whichhas an ergonomic insole unit incorporated therein.

[0004] 2. Description of the Related Art

[0005] Lasts used for lasting uppers and insoles are generally providedwith flat bottom faces to accommodate a wiper blade of a heel lastingmachine. An example of the last with a flat bottom face 1A is shown inFIGS. 1A and 1B. In manufacturing a shoe, an upper is disposed around alast and the bottom margin thereof is folded over an insole which ismounted on the flat bottom face of the last, via the wiper blade thatwipes over the flattened surface of the insole. The wiper blade cannotwork if the insole and/or the bottom face of the last are not flatbecause the wiper blade moves only along a planar surface.

[0006]FIGS. 2A and 2B show another last 2 which has a heel part with arounded or convex bottom face 2A conforming to the bottom of the heel ofthe wearer's foot. Such a last 2 is used in forming an ergonomic insole,midsole or outsole, which has a heel part with a top face concaveddownwardly, and in manufacturing a sandals 3 incorporating an ergonomicsole 31 as shown in FIG. 3. However, since the rounded bottom face 2A ofthe last 2 does not provide a planar surface to support and flatten aninsole pad, the prior art never suggests that the last 2 be used in aheel lasting process to last an upper with an ergonomic insole.

[0007] It is conventional to place inside a shoe a removable cushion padwhich has a downward concave area at the top face thereof to support theconvex bottom of the wearer's heel. U.S. Pat. No. 6,070,342 discloses aremovable insole assembly which includes an ergonomic foamed padincorporating a reinforcing a rigid cap. The foamed pad has a downwardconcave area which is thinner than the lateral parts thereof. This thinconcave area does not have enough thickness to sufficiently cushion thewearer's heel beneath the calcaneus because the thickness of theremovable foamed pad is limited by the height of the interior space ofthe shoe measured from the top of an insole connected directly to thebottom margin of an upper via a lasting process. Since this height isdetermined by a last used to manufacture the shoe, if the thickness ofthe concave area of the foamed pad is to increase, it is necessary toincrease the height of the last. Thus, a particularly designed last witha dimension required to provide the desired height of the interior spaceof the shoe is needed. The need to produce a particular last wouldincrease the cost of manufacturing shoes incorporating such removableinsole assemblies.

[0008] An object of the present invention is to provide a shoe with anergonomic insole unit which has a downward concave area with sufficientthickness to comfort and support the wearer's heel and which can stillbe manufactured by using a common last.

[0009] Another object of the present invention is to provide a shoe withan ergonomic insole unit that is lasted with a bottom margin of an upperby using a last having a rounded or convex bottom heel part.

[0010] Accordingly, a shoe according to the present invention ischaracterized by an ergonomic insole unit and an upper having a bottommargin attached directly to the insole unit via a lasting process, theinsole unit including a heel part which includes a base, a rear upwardflange projecting upward from a periphery of the base and making aU-shaped turn around the base, the upward flange forming a corner withthe base along the U-shaped turn, the bottom margin of the upper beingfolded over the corner, the base having a bottom face and a top faceopposite to the bottom face, the top face having a downward concavearea, the bottom face being coplanar at least in a peripheral regionwhich extends along full length of the corner.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0011] Other features and advantages of the present invention willbecome apparent in the following detailed description of the preferredembodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which:

[0012]FIG. 1A is a side view of a conventional last which is planar atthe bottom of a heel region thereof;

[0013]FIG. 1B is a rear view of the conventional last of FIG. 1A;

[0014]FIG. 2A is a side view of another conventional last which isconvex at the bottom of a heel region thereof;

[0015]FIG. 2B is a rear view of the conventional last of FIG. 2A;

[0016]FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a sandal and the conventionallast of FIGS. 2A and 2B;

[0017]FIG. 4 is a sectional view of a shoe embodying the presentinvention;

[0018]FIG. 5 is another sectional view of the shoe taken along line 5-5of FIG. 4;

[0019]FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a heel part of an insole unitshown in FIG. 4;

[0020]FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along line 7-7 of FIG. 6;

[0021]FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken along line 8-8 of FIG. 6;

[0022]FIG. 9 is an elevation view showing an insole element and the heelpart of FIG. 4, both of which are mounted on a last;

[0023]FIG. 10 is the same view as FIG. 5 but with the insole elementbeing placed beneath the heel part;

[0024]FIG. 11A is a perspective view showing another heel part accordingto the present invention;

[0025]FIG. 11B is a cross-sectional view taken along line 11B-11B ofFIG. 11A;

[0026]FIG. 12 is a perspective view of another insole unit according tothe present invention;

[0027]FIG. 13 is a perspective view of a toe part of the insole unitaccording to the present invention;

[0028]FIG. 14 is a perspective view of another toe part of the insoleunit according to the present invention;

[0029]FIG. 15 is a perspective view of a modified form of the toe partof FIG. 13;

[0030]FIG. 16 is a perspective view of a modified form of the toe partof FIG. 14;

[0031]FIG. 17 is a perspective view of a modified form of the heel partof FIG. 6;

[0032]FIG. 18 is a perspective view of a modified form of the heel partof FIG. 11A;

[0033]FIG. 19 is an elevation view of another shoe embodying the presentinvention;

[0034]FIG. 20 is a perspective view of a shank part usable in thepresent invention;

[0035]FIG. 21 is a perspective view showing a heel part which is smallerin size than a heel section of an insole element according to thepresent invention;

[0036]FIG. 22 is a perspective view of a one-piece sole-shaped memberwhich is flat in a peripheral region and has a downwardly projectingprotrusion;

[0037]FIG. 23 is another perspective view of the one-piece sole-shapedmember of FIG. 22; and

[0038]FIG. 24 is a sectional view taken along line 24-24 of FIG. 23.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0039] Referring to FIGS. 4 & 5, a first embodiment of a shoe 10according to the present invention comprises an upper 20 connected to anergonomic insole unit which includes an insole element 21 and a heelpart 30 connected to the insole element 21 via connection means, such asadhesive bonding, sewing or mechanical fasteners, etc. The upper 20 hasa bottom margin 201 provided around the insole element 21 and the heelpart 30. The bottom margin 201 is attached to the insole element 21 andthe heel part 30 via a lasting process.

[0040] The heel part 30 may be fabricated via a molding process from arigid, semi-rigid, or flexible plastic material. The plastic materialsusable for the heel part 30 include PVC, PU, EVA, EPE, etc. Referring toFIGS. 6, 7 and 8, the heel part 30 includes a base 301, and a rearupward flange 302 extending upward from the base 301 and making asubstantially U-shaped turn around the base 301. The base 301 has aplanar bottom face 304 which forms a corner 305 with the upward flange302. The heel part 30 further has a top face opposite to the planarbottom face 304, which has a downward concave area 307.

[0041] The insole element 21 has a toe section 211, a shank section 212,and a heel section 213, like the conventional insole. The insole element21 is made of a flexible material such as PU, PVC, EVA, a woven ornon-woven fabric, or the like. The insole element 21 has a substantiallyuniform thickness, and the heel section 213 of the insole element 21 isplaced above the base 301 of the heel part 30. In assembly, the insoleelement 21 and the heel part 30 are mounted on a bottom side of a last40, as shown in FIG. 9, to undergo a lasting operation in a conventionalmanner. During the lasting operation, the upper 20 is also mounted onthe last 40, and a portion of the bottom margin 201 is folded over andattached to the planar bottom face 304 of the heel part 30. Theremaining portion of the bottom margin 201 of the upper 20 is foldedover and attached to the bottom face of the insole element 21. After thelasting operation, the upper 20, the insole element 21 and the heel part30 are assembled with an outsole 50 via a conventional soling process,such as a direct injection process to form the outsole 50, a cementingprocess to cement the outsole 50, or a goodyear welt process to attach agoodyear welt and the outsole 50.

[0042] Although the last 40 has a rounded or concave bottom profile,like the last 2 shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, it is feasible to use the last40 to fabricate the shoe 10 by using a conventional heel lasting machinesince the heel part 30 has the planar bottom face 304. Since the insoleunit, comprised of the heel part 30 and the insole element 21, isattached directly to the bottom margin 201 of the upper 20 during thelasting operation, the insole unit is at the outside of the volume ofthe last 40. Thus, the thickness of the insole unit or the heel part 30is not limited by the height or volume of the interior space of theupper 20 which is determined by the volume of the last 40. As a result,the heel part 30 can be provided with a sufficient thickness at thedownward concave area 307 so as to effectively cushion the bottom faceof the wearer's heel beneath the calcaneus.

[0043] Referring to FIG. 10, the heel part 30 maybe placed above andconnected integrally with the insole element 21. In assembly, the heelpart 30 together with the insole element 21 is mounted on the last 40shown in FIG. 9 and is connected to the bottom margin 201 of the upper20.

[0044] Instead of the heel part 30 described hereinbefore, the ergonomicinsole unit according to the present invention may be configured toinclude a heel part 30A as shown in FIGS. 11A and 11B. The heel part 30Ahas a base 301A and an upward flange 302A which are substantially thesame as the base 301 and the flange 302 of the heel part 30 except thatthe base 301A is provided with an opening 309A in the downward concavearea 307A thereof.

[0045] Referring to FIG. 12, the ergonomic insole unit according to thepresent invention is configured as a single piece member 30B including aheel part 301B, a shank part 302B and a toe part 303B. The heel part301B has substantially the same configuration as the heel part 30. Theshank part 302B and the toe part 303B may be designed such that they aremore flexible and have a lower hardness than that of the heel part 301B.The single-piece member 30B may be constructed in such a manner thatthey have different levels of hardness at the heel, shank and toe parts301B, 302B and 303B. When the single piece member 30B is used, the upper20 may be lasted with or without the insole element 21.

[0046] Referring to FIGS. 13 and 14, the ergonomic insole unit in thepresent invention may also include a separate toe part 31, or a separatetoe part 32 to be used together with the heel part 30 or 30A. The toepart 31 in FIG. 13 has a front upward flange 312 projecting upward fromthe periphery of the toe part 31 and having a U-shaped turn along theperiphery of the toe part 31. The toe part 32 in FIG. 14 has a frontupward flange 322 projecting upward from the periphery of the toe part32 and having a U-shaped turn along the periphery of the toe part 32. Inassembly, the toe part 31 or 32 may be placed above or below the insoleelement 21, like the heel part 30 or 30A, and mounted on the last 40(shown in FIG. 9) together with the insole element 21.

[0047] Referring to FIGS. 15 and 16, reference numerals 31A and 32Arepresent respectively another toe parts which are modified forms of thetoe parts 31 and 32. The toe part 31A has an additional front outwardflange 313A which projects outward from an upward flange 312A along aplane coplanar with a bottom face (not shown) of the toe part 31A. Thetoe part 32A has an additional front outward flange 323A which projectsoutward from an upward flange 322A along a plane coplanar with a bottomface (not shown) of the toe part 32A.

[0048] Referring to FIGS. 17 and 18, reference numerals 30C and 30Drepresent respectively another heel parts which are modified forms ofthe heel parts 30 and 30A. The heel part 30C has an additional rearoutward flange 301C which projects outward from an upward flange 302Calong a plane coplanar with the planar bottom face (not shown) of theheel part 30C. The heel part 30D has an additional rear outward flange301D which projects outward from an upward flange 302D along a planecoplanar with a planar bottom face (not shown) of the heel part 30D.

[0049] Referring to FIG. 19, the heel part 30C or 30D and the toe part31A or 32A have the outward flanges 301C or 301D and the outward flanges313A or 323A thereof connected to an outwardly turned bottom margin 201Aof an upper 20A. The heel part 30C or 30D and the toe part 31A or 32Aare disposed above the insole element 21 and are interconnectedintegrally. Assembly of the upper 20A with the insole element 21, theheel part 30C or 30D and the toe part 31A or 32A is accomplished via aconventional stitchdown process using the last 40 which is shown in FIG.9.

[0050] Referring to FIG. 20, the ergonomic insole unit according to thepresent invention may also include a separate shank part 33 which can beused in combination with the heel part 30 or 30A and the toe part 31 or32. The shank part 33 has two opposite lateral upward flanges 331 whichproject upward from two opposite ends of the shank part 33. In assembly,the shank part 33 may be placed above or below the insole element 21together with the heel part 30 or 30A and/or the toe part 31 or 32 andconnected to the bottom margin 201 of the upper 20.

[0051] Referring to FIG. 21, the heel part 30A may be configured with asize smaller than the heel section 213 of the insole element 21 so thatthe periphery of the insole element 21 extends beyond and projectsoutwardly of the periphery of the heel part 30A when the heel part 30Ais disposed above the insole element 21. The outwardly projecting partof the insole element 21 may be connected to the outwardly turned bottommargin 201A of the upper 20A shown in FIG. 19.

[0052] Referring to FIGS. 22, 23 and 24, a one-piece sole-shaped member30B′ is constructed substantially in the same manner as the one-piecemember 30B shown in FIG. 12 except that the one-piece sole-shaped member30B′ has a protrusion 309B. In particular, the one-piece member 30B′includes a heel part 301B, a shank part 302B, and a toe part 303B. Theprotrusion 309B projects downward from the bottom face (304B) of theone-piece member 30B′ so that a looped shoulder 3091B is formed aroundthe protrusion 309B and a peripheral region 3092B is formed around theshoulder 3091B. The peripheral region 3092B is adjacent immediately toand extends around the shoulder 3091B. The peripheral region 3092B has acoplanar face which extends along full length of a corner 305B of theheel part 301B and further extends to the shank part 302B and the toepart 303B. Preferably, the width of the peripheral region 3092B is atleast 10 mm measured from the corner 305B.

[0053] While the present invention has been described in connection withwhat is considered the most practical and preferred embodiment, it isunderstood that this invention is not limited to the disclosedembodiments but is intended to cover various arrangements includedwithin the spirit and scope of the broadest interpretation so as toencompass all such modifications and equivalent arrangements.

1. A shoe comprising: an ergonomic insole unit, and an upper having abottom margin attached directly to said insole unit via a lastingprocess, said insole unit including a heel part which includes a base, arear upward flange projecting upward from a periphery of said base andmaking a U-shaped turn around said base, said upward flange forming acorner with said base along said U-shaped turn, said bottom margin ofsaid upper being folded over said corner, said base having a bottomface, and a top face opposite to said bottom face, said top face havinga downward concave area, said bottom face being coplanar at least in aperipheral region which extends along full length of said corner.
 2. Theshoe as claimed in claim 1, wherein an entire part of said bottom faceis coplanar.
 3. The shoe as claimed in claim 1, wherein said insole unitfurther includes an insole element which has a uniform thickness andwhich includes a toe section, a heel section, and a shank sectioninterconnecting said toe and heel sections, said heel part being formedas a separate piece from said insole element.
 4. The shoe as claimed inclaim 3, wherein said heel part is disposed beneath said heel section ofsaid insole element and connected integrally to said insole element. 5.The shoe as claimed in claim 3, wherein said heel part is disposed abovesaid heel section of said insole element and connected integrally tosaid insole element.
 6. The shoe as claimed in claim 1, wherein saidinsole unit further includes a toe part, and a shank part connectedbetween said toe part and said heel part, said heel part, said toe partand said shank part being formed as a one-piece sole-shaped member. 7.The shoe as claimed in claim 1, wherein said insole unit furtherincludes a toe part formed as a separate piece from said heel part. 8.The shoe as claimed in claim 1, wherein said insole unit furtherincludes a shank part formed as a separate piece from said heel part. 9.The shoe as claimed in claim 1, wherein said heel part further has arear outward flange which projects outward from said upward flange andwhich is substantially coplanar with said bottom face.
 10. The shoe asclaimed in claim 1, wherein said heel part has a protrusion projectingdownward from said bottom face within said peripheral region.
 11. Theshoe as claimed in claim 1, wherein said insole unit further includes atoe part, and a shank part connected between said toe part and said heelpart, said toe part, said shank part and said heel part being formed asa one-piece sole-shaped member, said one-piece member having a bottomface that extends from said toe part to said heel part and that includessaid bottom face of said heel part, said bottom face of said one-piecemember having a protrusion that projects downwardly.